A Prayer For Our Christian Brothers In India

We learned of some sad news this morning.   Our Indian Christian brothers and sisters are being persecuted and  being used as a scapegoat by other religious groups for the civil unrest in many regions.   One of the Christian villages, which our church helps through sponsorship.  Their village was burned to the ground and some of the inhabitants were beaten.  Those villagers who escaped are living in the jungle, fearful of their attackers.  In other reports Christian churches were ransacked and burned.

Persecution is not new to Christian believers.  Paul, a devoted follower of Christ gave up a good position as a religious leader to be  ostracized from his family and his friends.   Paul writes of his persecution in this way. He has:

... been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.   I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  2 Corinthians 11:23-28

And in Romans 15:30-31 Paul writes these words to other believers:

I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there...

Fellow believers, let's follow Paul's urging and pray for our Christian bothers and sisters in India asking God to help them in  their struggles and persecutions.